The Sinner and the Traitor

I came shooting out of the fireplace gracefully because I’ve done this a million times before, the only difference was I was coming in as my brother instead. I stopped to look around into the grand atrium of the Ministry of Magic seeing the differences immediately. I started looking for my friends before realizing that they wouldn’t look like themselves. I found Hermione standing before a massive statue of black stone depicting a witch and wizard sitting upon hundreds of naked bodies twisted in pain. Harry joined her a second before I did.

“Are those...?” Harry asked quietly and I nodded in disgust as Hermione answered.

“Muggles. In their rightful place.” Harry glanced at the base of the statue, where the words Magic is Might was engraved. Just then, a balding wizard bumped into Harry. I turned to look at the man with a glare as he rounded on Harry with anger.

“Move it, will you -- oh, Runcorn! Forgive me.” He caught sight of me on the other side of him and the color completely drained from his face. The Balding Wizard hurried away, clearly frightened, as does another wizard, merely at the sight of us.

Harry looked at me. “Am I a Death Eater or something?”

“Not one I recognize.” I looked at his left forearm. “Did you have the mark on you when you were getting dressed?” He shook his head. “Then you’re probably just a supporter of him then. Apparently a really big one if people are this scared of you.”

“You appear to be quite popular as well.” Hermione said as a woman seemed to squeal at the sight of me and run. My brother has really built a reputation for himself I guess. Then again, he’s a Beyer.
Ron approached, running a gauntlet of pitying looks from co-workers who echo the Skinny Wizard’s “Good Luck.”

“I gotta tell you, I'm starting to freak out a bit.” Just then, a gang of young, rough-looking Wizards led by their leader, Scabior, enter the Atrium, pushing along a small group of captives. I stood up straighter suddenly on edge. Scabior was close with my brother and if he saw me he would know something was up. I quickly turned around so he wouldn’t see my face and I started to pray to whoever was out there that he didn’t see me.

“The Ministry must be hiring young these days.” Harry remarked and I shook my head. That was not what was happening at all.

“They’re not Ministry. They’re Snatchers. They hunt Muggle-borns and blood-traitors for a price.” I watched them turn a corner and I sighed in relief. “If anyone is going to find us it will be them. They’re that good.”

Harry gulped. “How long did you say this batch of Polyjuice Potion would last, Hermione?”

“I didn’t.” She squeaked. Bloody hell we better hurry. As we got onto the lift it was stopped by a Wizard I recognized from my trips here. I didn’t remember exactly what he did but it wasn’t legal I was sure of that.

“Cattlemole!” They all jump. Yaxley strode directly up to Ron. “It’s still raining in my office. Two days now.”

“Really? Have you tried an umbrella?” Yaxley eyes Ron curiously, then leans forward menacingly. He stopped when he saw me before an evil grin replaced his frown. “Welcome back Beyer. You going to the trial?”

What trial? “Yes I am. I have to go to my office first though.”

Yaxley nodded before rounding on Ron again. “You do realize I'm on my way downstairs, don’t you, Cattermole?”

“Downstairs...?”

“To interrogate your wife! If my wife’s blood status were in doubt and the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement needed a job doing, I think I’d make it a priority. You’ve got one hour.” He pulled away and the doors clanged shut. I took a deep breath to stop the shaking inside of me. So that was why he wanted me at the trial. Oh my God I had to interrogate someone?! No, wait. They didn’t know I was going to be back today so it wasn’t me.

“Oh my god. What am I going to do? My wife’s all alone downstairs?” Ron was freaking out and Hermione and I looked at each other.

“Ron. You don’t have a wife.” Harry said slowly so he would stop acting weird.

“Oh. Right.” I shook my head. Ron could be a really idiot at times.

“Look, we’ll go with you --.” Harry started to say before I shook my head and interrupted.

“Are you mad? We are the oddest group together in the Ministry at the moment. My brother and Runcorn may associate together but never with Cattermole who I’m guessing is janitorial staff. We have to separate. Besides we’ll cover more ground.”

“Who died and mad you in charge?” Hermione chuckled nervously but I knew she knew I was right.

“No, she’s right. That’s mad. You two find Umbridge. Vanessa can go check her brother’s office. Maybe there’s something in there we could use. I’ll be fine. But how do I stop it raining?”

“Try Finite Incantatem.” I suggested looking at Hermione for a second opinion.

“Of course if something’s gone wrong with an Atmospheric Charm--.” She was cut off by a woman’s voice coming out of nowhere.

I knew this wasn’t my floor so I waited. “Level Two. Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including Wizengamot Administration Services, Auror Headquarters and Improper Use of Magic Department.”

We waited but Ron didn’t move. Hermione gave a small push. “This is you.”

The lift opened and Ron begins to back out. “Finite Incantatem, okay. And if that doesn’t work...?”
But before she can respond the golden grilles of the lift closed and we were swept away. “I don’t like him being on his own down there.”

“Ron’s been coming here since he was two years old. It’s us you should be worrying about.” He looked at me. “Well us as in you and I. Besides, Vanessa knows where she is going. Right?”

I smiled at him. “Of course! To the Department of International Magical Cooperation. It deals with foreign affairs, both political and public. It includes the International Magical Trading Standards Body, International Magical Office of Law which is what Silas is in and International Confederation of Wizards. It’s one of the highest jobs one can get in the Ministry. Silas worked his arse off getting to where he is now.” I could hear how proud of him I was. He may have been a Death Eater but he was still my loving goofy brother who took care of me as much as he could. I think I turned out okay.

Hermione was staring at me. “Your brother has really nice teeth.” She turned to Harry and grimaced. “You, however, really have horrible teeth, you know that.”

The woman’s voice spoke up once more. “Level One. Minister of Magic and Support Staff.”
Harry started whispering quickly. “I say if we don’t locate Umbridge within the hour, we go find Ron and come back another day. Deal?” The grilles clang open again and Harry and Hermione freeze. I put a smile on my face and greeted the woman though on the inside I was seething. To say I hated her was an understatement.

Standing next to a long haired wizard, her neck enwrapped in a fuzzy pink scarf, was Dolores Umbridge. She looked up from the clipboard in her hand and sees me. She raised an eyebrow in question. Hermione next to me stiffened in response but I knew to play it calm and confident. I was practically raised by Death Eaters after all and on more than one occasion had to lie about something.

“Silas! I didn’t know you were back already.”

“Only for the day, Dolores.” I greeted.

“Any luck searching for that disgrace of a sister of yours?” I stiffened as she turned her nose up at mentioning me.

“No such luck.” My tone was clipped.

“Why you guys thought she would be in Romania is beyond me.” Romania? Oh yeah! We had distant family out there who weren’t part of the Death Eater crowd. I was never allowed to visit them because they were ‘banished’ from our family. My great grandmother’s sisters daughter or something like that.

“Well we do have family out there so it was worth a shot.”

She made that noise in her throat like a chuckle that we all hated and I had to hold back making a face. “Well I hope you find her and permanently take care of the problem.” I flinched at what she was insinuating but said nothing more on the matter. Hermione. “Ah, Mafalda! Travers sent you, did he? Good. We’ll go straight down.” She stopped to eye Harry who hadn’t moved. I think he forgot he was to get off here. “Albert, aren’t you getting out?” Harry nodded mutely, and stepped out.

There was a tense silence in the lift with Hermione and I staring stone faced at the lift doors. I kept expecting the polyjuice to wear off at that moment and for us to be caught but it never happened. Umbridge and Hermione got off at their stop and I proceeded to mine feeling less tense.

“Level 4. Department of International Magical Cooperation.” I stepped off and wished instantly that I hadn’t.

Scabior.

I kept walking towards the end of the massive hallway like I didn’t see him talking off to the side to his goons. I thought I had almost made it when he called out my name, well Silas’s name.
I nodded in his direction. “Scabior.”

“Hey chap! Where are you off to in such a hurry? Still looking for delicious sister of yours?” He licked his lips and I thought I was going to throw up. Silas really needed to rethink his friends.

“Careful.” I snarled knowing how my brother got when a guy talked about me like that. How he talked to Fenrir Greyback when he got too close to me. Judging from Scabior’s step back I acted how I should have. I would never forget how Lupin described him to me. I mean I knew who he was but when you have an overprotective brother like I did, then you sometimes get shielded from the world.

"Fenrir Greyback is, perhaps, the most savage werewolf alive today. He regards it as his mission in life to bite and to conta¬minate as many people as possible; he wants to create enough were¬wolves to overcome the wizards. Voldemort has promised him prey in return for his services. Greyback specializes in children... Bite them young, he says, and raise them away from their parents, raise them to hate normal wizards."

I shivered inwardly thinking about the times his piercing pale scary blue eyes used to follow me everywhere I walked. He was a weapon of mass destruction and if I never saw him again it would still be too soon.

Scabior put his hands up in a surrendering motion. “Sorry mate. It’s just a disappointment to us that an eligible Beyer is off the market. We all thought her and that Malfoy boy would end up together and he would bring her back to our side but the boy failed, yet again.” He shook his head in pity. I had to shallow the hollow feeling that started to fill my throat at the sound of Draco’s name. I missed him like crazy but what he done was unforgivable, not to mention he could have not done it and ran away with me. We could have lived in the America’s or something if he was that scared about it all. But no, instead he goes and tries to kill Dumbledore. I know he couldn’t do it because deep down he really was a good person but he was so wrapped up in trying to please his father that he let me down in the process.

“Yes, such a shame.” I smiled darkly. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have important matters to attend to.”

I left him standing there and kept walking towards his office. Once inside I slumped against the door in relief, trying to hold the tears back. When did life get so crazy and hard? I missed when the hardest thing I had to worry about was homework and whether or not my hair was in place. I had to admit that our fifth and sixth year together was one of the best years ever. He was still a git that needed a good punch to the face but he was my git. When I was upset, he took care of me. If someone did something to me, he took care of it. I closed my eyes as I remembered all the laughs we shared, the kisses, that one night together in the room of requirements where all innocence was lost. I missed it all.

I put my hands to my face to brush at the tears. I was surprised to find that my brother had tear ducts honestly. I had never seen him cry before. I used to think he would cry at my wedding if I ever got married. That he would be so proud of me, that he would show me off and say ‘Yeah, that’s her. That’s my baby sister. Isnt she beautiful? Isn’t she brillant?’ I could see him handing me off to Draco, like a father would, and he would smile at Draco and clasp him on the shoulder. Brother to brother. Draco would turn to look at me with the biggest grin on his face and so much love shining though his eyes.

That image was replaced with the look he gave me that night Dumbledore died. I had chased him and Bellatrix outside the tower trying to get them to stop and shooting curse after curse at them but I was blocked each and every time. Draco did nothing to help me. He just looked at me hopelessly after he mouthed that he was sorry to me. Yes, he mouthed he was sorry to me. He had looked me straight in the eyes and left me. Left me to go please his damn father because that was what Draco did best. He ran to daddy.

“Get yourself together, Vanessa!” I whispered harshly to myself as I pushed myself off the door towards his desk. He no longer had photos around his office I noticed as I sat down in his chair. He used to have photos of us everywhere but they had disappeared. I didn’t think too much of it as I started trifling through drawers. What I was looking for, I didn’t know.

It was mostly papers, a calendar, potions for whatever, and snacks. I had to shake my head in humor. My brother was always hungry and eating. It was probably why he was so massive. He had to work out to keep his figure if he eat like this. And my brother was definitely a built guy.

I got to the last draw and found a few of the pictures stashed under piles of paperwork that looked meaningless. There was the one of us when we went to Ireland for a vacation. I think it had more to do with work but he never let me know. I was 13 and it was the summer before my third year. I had survived that crazy year and Silas thought it would be good to get me out of the house. I looked at the picture as we hugged each other in the moving photo. We were laughing and it wasn’t forced. The next photo was of us with Draco at a house party that the Minister was throwing. Draco and I had kept each other company to keep each other sane. It was beyond boring that night but we made it through. It was right after fifth year and Draco had his arm around me and my brother with his arm around Draco. We were clicking the champagne glasses together with smiles gracing our faces. The next was a ruined photo that I didn’t recognize. It looked like a family portrait only thing was that Silas and my face were the only untouched ones. Our parents faces were burned out, like he couldn’t stand to look at them. I felt myself grow sad for Silas. He hated our parents as much as I did but he still loved and respected them. Which was why he took up the family business.

I put the photos back and sighed leaning back in the chair. There was nothing here. If there was, it had been moved. Then again my brother wasn’t stupid enough to just leave things laying around. I was about to get up when something on the ledge of the window caught my eye. I walked over to it and I had to stop myself from tearing up. It was a miniature tiger, much like the miniature dragons Harry had during our fourth year. After I found out what my Patronus charm was I became fascinated with Tigers. I had found the tiger in a shop in Germany on a separate trip and immediately bought it. I gave it to Silas as a gift explaining that it reminded me of us. We were strong and agile like the massive feline as well as aggressive and protective of each other. He had loved it and put it in his office immediately. He would tell me that when he was in need of assistance that he would look at it, think of me and what I would say. He told me it always helped him when he needed it.

I picked up the tiger and it purred, curling up in my hand. I started petting gently at its back before placing it back on the windowsill. I was surprised he had kept it even after what I had done to him. To put him in the position he was now probably wasn’t easy. Silas was as tough as a tiger though so I knew he could handle it. Just like I could if I tried. And with that I headed downstairs to where I knew Hermione was.

I had a trial to attend.